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 Sacred prostitution was known among the Jews, as both Kuenen and Kalisch testify. The latter writer says: "The unchaste worship of Ashtarte, known also as Beltis and Tannais, Ishtar, Mylitta, and Anaitis, Asherah, and Ashtaroth, flourished among the Hebrews at all times, both in the kingdom of Judah and Israel; it consisted in presenting to the goddess who was revered as the female principle of conception and birth, the virginity of maidens as a first-fruit offering; and it was associated with the utmost licentiousness. This degrading service took such deep root that in the Assyrian period it was soon extended by the adoption of new rites borrowed from Eastern Asia, and described by the name of "Tents of the Maidens."

The Song of Solomon, one of the oldest books of the Bible, has been ascribed to the same writer as the Book of Ecclesiastes. Some critics have urged that "the Song of Songs" was a bridal poem celebrating the marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharoah. Whoever the author may have been, the Song of Solomon conveys instructive evidence of the strongly erotic conception of women among the Jews. The poem abounds in sensuous images and rapturous delight in the physical charm of women. This fine relic of ancient Oriental literature was forbidden by the Jewish